astronomy

Unified Theories of Cognition

Unified Theories of Cognition is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Unified Theories of Cognition rather than just read about it. In short: Unified Theories of Cognition is a 1990 book by Allen Newell. Newell argues for the need of a set of general assumptions for cognitive models that account for all of cognition: a unified theory of cognition, or cognitive architecture.

Key takeaways

Unified Theories of Cognition belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Unified Theories of Cognition to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Unified Theories of Cognition from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Unified Theories of Cognition is a 1990 book by Allen Newell. Newell argues for the need of a set of general assumptions for cognitive models that account for all of cognition: a unified theory of cognition, or cognitive architecture. The research started by Newell on unified theories of cognition represents a crucial element of divergence with respect to the vision of his long-term collaborator, and AI pioneer, Herbert Simon for what concerns the future of artificial intelligence research. Antonio Lieto recently drew attention to such a discrepancy, by pointing out that Herbert Simon decided to focus on the construction of single simulative programs (or microtheories/"middle-range" theories) that were considered a sufficient mean to enable the generalisation of “unifying” theories of cognition (i.e. according to Simon the "unification" was assumed to be derivable from a body of qualitative generalizations coming from the study of individual simulative programs). Newell, on the other hand, didn’t consider the construction of single simulative microtheories a sufficient mean to enable the generalisation of “unifying” theories of cognition and, in fact, started the enterprise of studying and developing integrated and multi-tasking intelligence via cognitive architectures that would have led to the development of the Soar cognitive architecture.

Contents Newell argues that the mind functions as a single system. He also claims the established cognitive models are vastly underdetermined by experimental data. By cognition, Newell means:

Problem solving, decision making, routine action Memory, learning, skill Perception, motor behavior Language Motivation, emotion Imagining, dreaming, daydreaming After arguing in favor of the development of unified theories of cognition, Newell puts forward a list of constraints to any unified theory, in that a theory should explain how a mind does the following:

Behave flexibly as a function of the environment Exhibit adaptive (rational, goal-oriented) behavior Operate in real time Operate in a rich, complex, detailed environment (Perceive an immense amount of changing detail; use vast amounts of knowledge; and control a motor system of many degrees of freedom) Use symbols and abstractions Use language, both natural and artificial Learn from the environment and from experience Acquire capabilities through development Operate autonomously, but within a social community Be self-aware and have a sense of self Be realizable as a neural system Be construable by an embryological growth process Arise through evolution Newell's secondary task is to put forward the cognitive architecture Soar as an implementation of a UTC that meets the constraints above. Other efforts at unified theories of cognition cited in the book include ACT-R and the human processor model.

See also Blue Brain Project Cognitive architecture Soar

References

Further reading Newell, A. (1994).Unified Theories of Cognition, Harvard University Press; Reprint edition, ISBN 0-674-92101-1. Newell, A. (1973). "You can’t play 20 questions with nature and win: Projective comments on the papers of this symposium". In W. G. Chase (ed.), Visual Information Processing. New York: Academic Press. (Read article online.)

External links What is a unified theory of cognition? You can't play 20 questions with nature and win

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Unified Theories of Cognition

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Unified Theories of Cognition claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Unified Theories of Cognition before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Unified Theories of Cognition ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Unified Theories of Cognition

In research: Unified Theories of Cognition appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Unified Theories of Cognition in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Unified Theories of Cognition is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990 non-fiction books, Cognitive science literature, Harvard University Press books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Unified Theories of Cognition outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Unified Theories of Cognition in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Unified Theories of Cognition means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Unified Theories of Cognition out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Unified Theories of Cognition in simple terms?

Why does Unified Theories of Cognition matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Unified Theories of Cognition?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Unified Theories of Cognition.